If you’re like us, you’ll be pleased to hear that Terry Vavitis refused to be swayed by his mates when they tried to convince him to turn his genuine VH Vacationer into an SL/E or SS tribute.

First published in the September 2025 issue of Street Machine

“The side moulds and the decals were the last things to go on, and I was on the fence about it, so I drove it around for a bit without them,” Terry says. “But as soon as I committed and got them on, it completely changed the car for me; I love it and don’t regret keeping it as a Vacationer at all.”

Terry ended up with this VH when a mate who’d stripped it down ready for an LS couldn’t see the project through. “I had an SL/E on my Ps, and I’d been out of the car scene for a while, so I wanted to get back into it and do another one like I had when I was younger,” says Terry. “I was looking and got offered this one, but it was just a shell that’d been tubbed to the rails already and had a diff and rollcage in it. We cut the ’cage out, because I didn’t want or need it, and started from there.”

With the VH acquired, Terry had a very clear vision from the get-go for the car. “I knew I wanted a factory-spec looking car with a tough driveline, and when I had kids, I could put them in it with car seats and cruise it anywhere,” he says.

Another key aspect that was set in stone from the beginning was the LSA crate motor, something that was a hell of a lot cheaper and easier to source in 2017. “I did contemplate a 355 Holden at the start, but the cost was immense,” Terry says. “And back then, there were bugger-all LSAs in early Commodores, and I wanted to be different. A factory- supercharged V8 seemed right, and once we had it in there, it fit better than a 308!”

Although the LSA was a brand-new crate motor, Terry still had MKAL Automotive give it a tickle via a new custom-grind camshaft. “They make a lot of power stock, so I didn’t want much more,” he says. “I was very clear with Steve at MKAL that I didn’t want a super-loud, aggressive motor – I wanted this thing to drive nice and be quiet, and he nailed it.”

A stocko LSA makes around 576hp in a VF GTS, and while Terry wasn’t prepared to divulge the true figure from his MKAL-fettled example, let’s just say it’s plenty enough to shove 1200kg of VH up the road.

Backing up the blown LS is a Turbo 400 auto, and a nine-inch with massive 295 rubber under those swollen rear tubs.

Throughout the build, Terry went the extra mile to get the car engineered in Victoria, which was a bit of a ball-ache. “It has a cable throttlebody on it to suit the LS1 ECU, and even that had to be engineered,” he says. “I had to grind all the paint off the welds on the nine-inch diff so they could be tested for cracking. I’ll admit, I almost gave up on it a few times.”

Key players in the build were Michael and George at Motorstyle Automotive, where the car was mocked up, painted and underwent final assembly. “I can’t thank those boys enough,” Terry says. “They even went as far as to fully assemble the car before paint to make sure it was right, then tear it back down and do it all again once the car was painted. To go that far was above and beyond anything I expected.”

During the seven-year build, Terry spent hours upon hours chasing new-old-stock Holden parts. “The best ones were the seat covers. I went to a wrecker, explained what I was building, and by chance, they had a full set of old-stock covers still in the plastic – probably the last set out there!” he says. “The rest I luckily sourced right before prices went up, but it was a big effort.”

The Vacationer finally burled under its own power in late 2023, and since then, Terry has hit up a few shows in the lovely VH, along with plenty of cruises in and around Melbourne. “It won Top Modified VB-VH at the All Holden Day in 2023, and finished in the top five in the VB-VL category at Showcars Melbourne last year as well,” says the car’s proud owner.

Terry also had the Vacationer at Meguiar’s MotorEx last year, which is where we spotted it. “I drove it out of that hall and back home; that’s what I built it for,” he says. “Soon, I’ll get the baby seats in and take my daughters for a cruise, who both came along during the build of it.”

How about racing? Well, Terry doesn’t rule it out completely. “It wasn’t built for that, but I wouldn’t mind giving it a go at least once to see what number it could run,” he says. “But the plan is just to enjoy it now with my family – that was the whole purpose of the build.”

TERRY VAVITIS
1984 HOLDEN VH COMMODORE VACATIONER

THANKS
Michael and George at Motorstyle Automotive; Steve at MKAL Automotive; George at HP Fab; Brian at Western Street Trim; Phil at Progen Performance; Daniel at Psidup Fabrications; my family Stefania, Frankie and Evie.